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Piano Sonata in A major, Op 2 No 2

Introduction

In the salons of Viennese society, where Beethoven had to make his mark, piano virtuosos were expected to improvise to prove their worth. Gelinek, Wölffl and Steibelt (whose wife accompanied him on the tambourine) were among those who impressed with their runs, tremolos and trills, leading Beethoven to ask one of them naughtily: ‘Yes, but when are you going to begin?’

Beethoven himself never had such a problem. His beginnings are always terrific. The Piano Sonata in A major, Op 2 No 2, is a case in point. He wrote it in 1795 when he had just finished his counterpoint studies with Albrechtsberger (a famous music theorist and at the time Kapellmeister at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna). Although the Allegro vivace opens piano and in unison octaves, it is lively and alert, and some beautiful counterpoint ensues beginning in the ninth bar. In spirit it may be Haydnesque (the sonata was dedicated to Beethoven’s former teacher), but even though this is an early work it couldn’t be written by anyone else. Strong dynamic contrasts, a lyrical second subject, virtuoso passages bristling with energy (and some original Beethoven fingering that shows he must have had huge hands!), dramatic changes of key—all the traits of the young Beethoven are here in abundance. I am not the only pianist not to observe the second repeat; I have tried, but it never seemed to make any sense.

The second movement, Largo appassionato, is simply beautiful. Czerny speaks of its ‘religious character’, and the ‘choral-like swelling of the harmony’. The trick is to make the chords as legato as possible with the fingers, avoiding the pedal in order to keep the bass pizzicato, while keeping the long musical line. Even here it is important to follow carefully the contrapuntal lines in the passages between the statements of the theme. When the key suddenly turns to D minor instead of major, a truly orchestral sound is needed.

Beethoven’s early sonatas more often than not had four movements—already a departure from the norm. A scherzo follows, marked Allegretto, which can seem quite frivolous, but it is not easy to get every note in the opening gesture to sparkle as it should, especially when presented by the left hand. The ensuing trio in the minor key is much more dramatic with its sudden fortissimos. I feel that the repeats should be observed in the da capo—especially in the first section, which would otherwise be far too short.

A good dose of Viennese charm helps the interpretation of the final movement of this beautiful sonata. The tempo marking is Grazioso, which of course isn’t a tempo at all. Nothing would be worse, though, than to rattle it off too quickly; one can save any rattling for the middle section, in which Beethoven releases a ‘hail-storm’ (to quote Tovey) of triplets. With each reappearance of the rondo theme the ornamentation becomes more elaborate, with a particularly affecting version at the end before the sonata’s gentle close. Perhaps the quiet ending is one reason this sonata isn’t performed as often as it should be.